Edwin l



Patented May 24, 1898.

fizz/l B.'L. GODING. LAST.

' (No Model.)

/ 1720672205, SM; "51 Qr 3 NIIED vSTATES EDWIN L. GODING, OF PORTLAND, MAINE.

LAST.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 604,383, dated May 24, 1898. Application filed August 14,1896. Serial no. 602,708. on. model.)

T aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWIN L. GODING, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Portland, in the county of Cumberland and State of Maine, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lasts; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in lasts, and particularly to that class of lasts known in the art as followers. It is designed to render it necessary when the style or size of the last is to be changed to provide a new fore part only, the heel part being of universal application. To this end the last is divided transversely to its length and in the vertical wall of the fore part is made a socket. Extending transversely across said socket is a bar or'rod which serves as a journal-bearing for the heel part of the last, said heel part being provided with a projecting connecting-plate, said plate being provided with means for engaging and turning on said barwhen the two 'partsof the last are connected. The heel part 'is cut away at the top, the out extending downwardly and forwardly, and may be provided with a spring, which serves as a closure for the open end of the hook on the connecting-plate.

In the drawings herewith accompanying and making a part of this application, Figure 1 is a top plan view of my improved last, showing the heel part reduced from the symmetrical outline of the last, which feature is described and claimed in my application for Letters Patent of the United States for improvements in lasts filed March 22, 1895, Serial No. 542,743; and Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the same.

Same letters refer to like parts.

In said drawings, A represents the fore part of a last divided on substantiallya transverse vertical line at or near the shank; B, a vertical socket in the rear wall of the fore part, and O a transverse bar in the fore part of the last and extending across the socket therein and leaving a free space D beyond the bar. The heel part is provided with a verticallydisposed connecting-plate E, adapted to project into the socket in the fore part when the two parts are placed together. Said plate has a hook F or its equivalent at the forward end, adapted to engage the transverse bar in the fore part, said heel part being adapted to swing on said bar as a pivot. The heel part is cut away diagonally forward and downward, as seen at G, to permit the heel part to turn upwardly and forwardly, and may have attached to said inclined face a spring H, which extends down and over the open end of the hook in the connecting-plate, forming a closure for said hook. For convenience in attaching the two parts together gether, insert the connecting-plate of the heel portion in the socket of the fore part, the hook engaging the connecting-bar, the two walls when the parts are in their normal position abutting, as seen in Fig. 2. To disconnect the parts, bear down on the heel part, thus withdrawing the hook from the bar.

The advantages of my improved last are that it obviates the necessity for frequent renewals of the heel portion, it only being necessary when the style and size is to be changed to procure the fore parts, thus materially lessening the expense of changing the style of boots and shoes. It is simple and inexpensive to construct and is adapted, by reason of its jointed structure, to be easily inserted in and withdrawn from the shoe without straining or tearing the parts thereof.

Having thus described my invention and its use, I claim 1. As a new article of manufacture a fore part of a last provided with a vertical socket in its rear wall and a transverse bar set in said fore part and extending across said socket, in combination with a heel part provided with a projecting connecting-plate, said plate being adapted to project into the socket in the fore part and adapted to removably engage and pivot on said bar, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In a last, the combination with a fore part provided with a vertical socket in its rear wall and a transverse bar set in said fore part and extending across said socket, of a heel part provided with a connecting-plate having a hook on the end adapted to engage the bar in the fore part and swing thereon and a spring adapted to serve as a closure for said hook, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two Witnesses, this 12th day of August, A. D. 1896.

EDWIN L. GODING.

Witnesses:

ELGIN C. VERRILL, NATHAN CLIFFORD. 

